01/31/19 01/31/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from the sundance film festival i in park city, utah, this is democracacy now! >> voting rights is the foundation of how democracy workrks. it is how wewe make our voices heard in a community. that democracy is failing. amy: as democrats pick stacey abrams to respond to president trump's state of the union, we will speak with the former

georgia gubernatorial candidate on voting rights, the rise of female lawmakers, trump's military trans ban and more. then as a documentary about the women's march premieres here at sundance, we air a dialogue addressing accusations of anti-semitism within the movement. >> we don't attack trump directly. video saying the she did not show up for one man. racism,up to fight anti-black racism, homophobia, transphobia, islamophobia, patriarchy, anti-cement is him. after donald trump is out of office, there'll still be all of those things here. amy: we will hear from women's march cochairs linda sarsour and tamika mallory, as well as nancy kaufman, head of the national council of jewish women. then we will speak to julie cohen, the director of the academy award nominated dr. in about ruthocumentary

bader ginsburg as well as actress and activist tessa thompson. >> in the last decade, elastic it, 10 years of filmmaking, the top 100 films, only 4% of those have been directed by women. in response to that, we've initiated the 4% challenge asking people to pledge to work wiwith a female director in the next 18 months. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. ththe governments ofof mexico ad our way are calling fofor an international meeting next week to discuss a peaceful solution to the crisis in venezuela. but in another setback to the government of nicolas maduro, the european parliament voted to recognize opposition leader juan president.he interim

this comes as fears growing the u.s. could launch a military invasion to topple maduro's government and prop up guaido, who had so national assembly. u.s. lawmakers, including marco rubio, called on the venezuelan military to help overthrow maduro. "new york times" op-ed to list said he and guaido clandestine meetings with the military and security forces to gain support for overthrowing maduro, writing -- "we have offered amnesty to all those who are found not guilty of crimes against humanity. the military's withdrawal of support from mr. maduro is crucial to enabling a change in government." on wednesday, guaido said he spoke with trump on the phone, as well as regional leaders in latin america including the presidents of argentina and chile, touting his "international coalition" of support. meanwhile, venezuelan citizens took to the streets of caracas wednesday in mass protests called by the opposition.

amid pledges of loyalty to guaido, some protesters called out the effects of the dire economic situation in the country. >> we came out to defend and demand humanitarian eight be brought in immediately. we as health workers are not going to continue to allow our patients to keep dying in health centers. amy: the u.s. has imposed massive sanctions against venezuela, crippling their economy. a reuters report published revealed that the united arab wednesday emirates hired over a dozen former nsa agents to spy on activists and foreign governments. according to the report, the uae recruited the ex-intelligence agents as part of a secret mission, codenamed project raven. the operatives reportedly worked out of a mansion in the capital abu dhabi, employing techniques learned during their time in the nsa. participants in the program say they hacked into the cell phones of hundreds of activists, opposition leaders, and

suspected terrorists using a spying tool called karma. at least four journalists were also spied on. the targets included u.s. citizens. the fbi is investigating whether u.s. contractors illegally targeted americans' communications or shared classified surveillance techniques as part of project raven. on wednesday, lawmakers in both the house and senate re-introduced a war powers resolution in an attempt to halt the unauthorized u.s.-backed, saudi-led war on yemen. california congressmember ro khanna introduced the bill for the third time in three months. in december, before newly elected democrats took control of the house, republican leadership blocked a vote on the bill. in the senate lawmakers passed , the resolution 56 to 41 in a historic vote last month. president trump hit back at top intelligence officials a day after they offered a security assessment that directly contradicts his past statements, namely on north korea, iran, and the threat posed by isis. trump tweeted wednesday that iran was actively testing

rockets, adding -- "perhaps intelligence should go back to school." in the occupupied palestinian territories, israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old palestinian girl at a checkpoint in the west bank wednesday. israeli police say that samah zuhair mubarak attempted to stab a security guard. local reports say that israeli soldiers on the scene denied medical care to the teenager after she was shot. thousands of israelis of ethiopian decent took to the streets of tel aviv wednesday to protest the police killing of yehuda biadga. the 24-year-old israeli-ethiopian man, who had a mental illness, was holding a knife when he was shot and killed. his family had called the police for help and informed them of his mental illness. protesters blocked traffic on a major highway as they called out police brutality and anti-black -- and racism. >> here we had so many years of dreaming to be a part of society

and today we are saying no more violence against us. amy: at least 43 people were killed when two boats carrying migrants sank off the coast of djibouti tuesday. search and rescue missions are continuing with scores still missing. passengers were believed to be heading to yemen. meanwhile, a migrant ship is -- docked in italy today. 47 passesengers disisembarkedftr a week stranded at sea as european nations refused to take in the migrants. in colombia, local media is reporting that two community leaders were killed over the past week. a gunman shot and killed dilio corpus guetio, a member of the local peasant association, as he was leaving his house in a rural area of the southwestern department of cauca. in valle del cauca, two men shot community leader and housing activist jose jair orozco in the doorway of his home last thursday. human rights groups have been sounding the alarm over the

mounting violence agagainst activists in colombia. at least 16 activists were murdered so far this year according to a local research and advocacy group. in the philippines, a grenade thrown into a mosque killed two people and wounded four wednesday. the attack in the southern city of zamboanga came three days after twin bombings at a roman caththolic cathedral on a nearby island killed 21 people. the two attacks followed a local referendum last week that showed overwhelming voter support for increased autonomy for the muslim-majority region of mindanao. in thailand, hundreds of schools have closed through this week as toxic smog fills the air of the capital bangkok. the smog comes from vehicular exhaust, construction, agricultural and factory pollution. high levels of fine particulate matter in the air have been found to cause premature death and are particularly dangerous for young children. over confidential files from 1000 special counsel robert

mueller's investigation were leaked and later uploaded to a filesharing website, according to a new court filing. the filing by mueller's office said the documents were shared with the lawyers of indicted russian hackers and are believed to have been leaked by individuals in russia. taiwanese electronics manufacturer foxconn is reconsidering its plan to build flat screen tv panels at a wisconsin plant in the latest blow to local workers who were told the electronics giant would create 13,000 jobs. former wisconsin governor scott walker, who was defeated in november's midterm elections, offered foxconn $4 billion in state and local tax credits. reuters is reporting that an assistant to foxconn's ceo said the facility will focus on research and development, rather than manufacturing, which was originally expected to be the main source of new jobs. trump was a vocal backer of the foxconn project, saying the plant would be the eighth wonder of the world.

the record-breaking polar vortex grouping the midwest united states has caused at least eight deaths, including road accidents. a number of schools continue to be shut down while the u.s. postal service has had to postpone mail delivery in 11 states. amtrak suspended service in and out ofof chicago, where windshields dipped to 50 degrees below fahrenheit wednesday. thousands of flights have been grounded across the region. in health news, the american lung association says in a new report the government is failing to protect minors from the dangers of e-cigarettes and tobacco. the group gave an "f" grade to the food and drug administration for failing to actct as the rate of e-cigarette use among high school students shot up by nearly 80% over the past two years. the reports warn that e-cigarettes contain levels of nicotine that could cause addiction and affect brain development in young peoeople.

meanwhile, a study published in a medical journal found that vaping is almost two times as effective as nicotine gum oror patches for quitting smoking. and martin sobell, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage with julius and ethel rosenberg at the height of the mccarthy-era, has died at the age of 101. sobell served 18 years in prison and maintained his innocence until two thousand eight when he told "the new york times" he had been a soviet spy, though he said he "never thought of it as that in those terms." in a 2003 interview on democracy now!, sobell compared government persecution in the past and present. >> and i say t today is much, mh worse. during mccarthyism, the fbi have prepared a list of 20,000 communist to be picked up overnight and be put into the concentration camps where the japanese had been cap. they also repaired every to the supreme court too sususpend habs

corpus. so they wanted to keep the forms proper. theyey wananted a legal basisisr suspendiding habeas cocorpus. ththey gang today does not eveno to court. this is bebeen habeas corpus withouout any lead of the court. in that sense, it it is closer to fascism than it ever was during the mccarthy period. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. democrats have selected former georgia gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams to deliver the response to presidident trump's state of the union address. the address will take place on after being delayed due the tuesday government shutdown. abrams will become the first person not in public office to respond to the president. she will also become the first african-american woman to deliver the response.

senate minority leader chuck schumer praised abrams for her work on voting rights. she recently launched fair fight action, a voting rights advocacy group, after she narrowly lost the georgia's governor's race to secretary of state brian kemp who was widely accused of suppressing the vote. in mid november, abrams refused to concede the race. >> pundits and hyper partisans will hear my words of the rejection of the normal order. you see, i am supposed to say nice things and accept my fate. they will complain i should not use this moment to recap what was done wrong or to demand a remedy. as a leader, i should be stoic in my outrage and silent in my rebuke. but stoicicism is a luxury. in silence is a weapon for those who would quiet those of the people. i will not concede because the erosion of our democracy is not right. amy: stacey abrams new group fair fight action is now suing

georgia election officials for mismanagement of the midterm elections. i recently spoke to stacey abrams in los angeles where she was attending the national day of racial healing. it is organized byby the directr ava duvernay. i asked her about fair fight action. >> where launched fair fight action, which includes verify georgia. our mission is to fix our democracy by forcing changes to our electoral system.. voting rights is the bedrock of how democracy works.s. it i is how we make our vovoices heard in o our commumunities. in georgia and around the country, that democracy is failing. our missioion is to make certain we take e a systemic look at wht happened f from registration too voter access to ballot counting, and make certain for every state and for every american that the right to vote is separate think and everyone can leverage it. amy: what you think of f amendmt it is bank in flolorida? >>

extraordinary. what i want to point out is florida had the most egregious laws when it came to felony voters. and voter rio franchihise map. in states like georgiaia, it is not that thehey don't have the right to vote, is the complicated forms s that did nanavigate to o access that rigo vote. i do believe lifting up -- anyone who is an america that is a taxpayer who is paid a debt to society, should be re-enfranchised and it should not be an obstacle course. i am proud of florida for taking the steps to make that possible. amy: the governor seems to want to find a way to stop it, but a lot of people are gettiting reay franchised. >> what is happening in florida is the pathway we need to walk for the rest o of the country, t only demanding better actions, but the ending bind those demands and pushing better action by those who are elected, whether itit is in florida or georgia or across the country, we have to u understand our

responsibility does not and on election day. the minute the elelections are over, the people w whoon that do not share our values are going to be working hard and we have to work harder. amy: a a lot of people credit yr race with opening up people's imagination so in 2018, we see the most diverse congress in u.s. history stop >> i i am prod to be part of the pmd on of elected leaders who from around this country founder -- f found their voices and lifd up theirir communities. we were abable to build a coalition. we tripled latino a nation participation will stop we andeased by 120% outperformed with african-americans and white voters to numbers that havave nt bebeen seen in georgia b before. whatat that signals i is you can in america come you can win in the deep south by talking to communities and engaging them where they are in treating them with respect that every community deserves. amy: the last two questionsns about the latetest news, just totoday, the supupreme court vod

to uphold the trans s ban for n, the ban on trans people in the military. your thoughts? abomination. is an these are men and women who have protected ouour country for the last two years since president obama opened up the military and said step p in if you want to help. what the conservative bloc of the supreme court is done is say they're willing to put us in harms way to suborned discrimination and bigotry coming from the white house. there isis no rational purprposr this. there is no rarational need. by allowing the ban to take place while litigation continues through the courts, simply says we are not going to stand up for every american. that is a shame that is comingg frfrom the suprememe court of te united states. amy: finally, the video that went viral where dr. king gave his speech and washington, d.c. now we see in 2019, a native american elder, the omaha elder nathan phillips, drumming and

chanting and young white high school students from kentucky, covington high school, the catholic high school, mocking him, sneeeeng. your thoughts on what this means for the future? >> i know w there is a nararrate ththat says we donon't have thel picture e of w what preceded att moment. the issue is what happened in the moment we saw. in that t moment we saw disresespect. we sawaw c communities divided. and we heardrd language that is not appropriate. the matter what instigated it, what we have to focus on is why ththis was t the reactioion. unfortunatelely, this begins at the top. we have a c cmander-in-n-chief o - -- his failed to hatred. that will absolutetely filter dn to the youngest and d most oppressed double members of o or cocommunity. ---- impressionable members of r community. regardleless of why begins, we

have to say it ins now. amy: former georgia gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams. i spoke to her in los angeles. she will deliver the response to president trump's state of the union address on tuesday night. back in a minute. ♪ [music break] amy: "black sheep" milck. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcacasting from the sundance film festival in park

city, utah, where a documentary about the women's march is just premierered. the film i is titleded "this i s " and directed by amy berg. the film's premiere comes shortly after marches were held across the country in but this january 19. year's marches were steeped in controversy resulting in smaller turnouts, and in the case of new york, two separate marches. in november, teresa shook, one of the founders of the women's march movement called for the removal of the four national cochairs -- bob bland, tamika mallory, carmen perez and linda sarsour. she accused them of allowing "anti-semitism, anti-lbgtqia sentiment, and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform." in response, the co-chairs accused shook of trying to fracture the network, denying her charges. much of the criticism focused on links between some of the co-chairs and the nation of islam's minister louis farrakhan who has been widely accused of being anti-semitic.

as an organization, the women's march released a statement saying farrakhan's statements were "not aligned with the women's march unity principles." while tamika mallory and linda sarsour have repeatedly denounced anti-semitism, they faced d some criticism for refusing to personally denounce farrakan. the cocontroversy erected l last february when mallory attended an event where farrakhan spoke. the new documentary "this is personal" captures how mallory and the movement handldled the crisis. part of the film chronicles an emotional meeting between tamika mallory and a rabbi in brooklyn. well, on monday, tamika mallory and linda sarsour took part in a discussion after a screening of "this is personal" here at the sundance film festival. it was moderated by the writer rebecca walker, author of the autobiography "black, white, and jewish." linda sarsour in tamika mallory responded to the criticism during a discussion which also included nancy kaufman, ceo of the national council of jewish

women. we begin with nancy kaufman. >> some of us were talking yesterday about the media and the media has not been helpful on this issue. someone who has worked my entire professional career in activism at the grassroots level , black jewish relations, muslim -jewish relations, anti-poverty. i spent my life doing this work. what i found from my experience is it is all about relationships. relationships can't be soundbited. when you're in a relationship like amy and tamika just described, you learn a lot more about each other and about what you each bring to it. it is very hard to do that when you have social media and print media and electronic media trying to tell your story for you. this situation has been very

powerful and very difficult. it is also difficult when you are communicating to a grassroots -- i have a organization across the country and they are reading about lewis farrakhan who is anti-semitic and you're trying to message this and have conversations it isn't easy. there is an enormous amount of work that has to go on person by person, individual by individual. i give tamika and linda a great till of credit because rather than walking away from this or becoming defensive, they reached out to many of us in the jewish community to have a conversation. as that fixed it? no. did many jews not participate in the march? yes. ago, 13st -- two years people on a bus will stop it had a ripple effect. i think jews did show up all

over the country. there are concerns. i think, amy, you did a very good job of trying to deal with this. i want to say this in the wake of pittsburgh, even though the 56% increase in anti-semitic incidents since 2016, most of us who know this note it has been white nationalists perpetrating those acts, it doesn't really matter because when 12 people are killed in a synagogue, that gives us enormous angst and the jewish community. and that, i think, play into this in a very, very large way. sincerely.and i think we have to unpack what is anti-semitism, you know, who are the spokespeople, who aren't, who we are allow to be the spokespeople. i denounce all the time -- you

touched on this -- in my community who i consider racist come all the time. i confront them. so what do we do about that? leaders -- because i think it changes when you become a leader then when you are common citizen. as leaders we have a anponsibility to articulate intersectional approach to the work we're trying to do. i think this is complicated. i don't think it is resolved yet, but i think it is a challenge. continue towe will do everything we can to try to navigate it. i also should put israel issue on the table. that is a very complicated issue for us as. those of us who consider us progressi, zionists, who believe in a two state solution and believe in the rights of palestinians and our feminist and believe that women will make

the difference, ultimately, hopefully, feel concerned about that. but that is a much longer conversation. >> i am glad you raised it. linda, do you have anything? >> i think my comment is more on a moving forward basis. i think people walking away from think,m understanding, i for me to things. this movement is going to be messy. everybody is going to have to make a decision whether they want to be on the table or not. i personally don't have the table of making the asian what i want to be the movement or not communities are under attack in my community is under attack, and i have a responsibility to protect those that are closest to me. thesen we have conversations, it is not just about relationship building -- which is important to me -- accountability is also important. also, understanding what kind of ideologies people are rooted in.

for example, one of the most important things that people don't know, and we're not have the opportunity because no media compares -- cares about solutions, they care about click bait. that but meant to faces rooted in violence. we are taught to attack the forces of evil and not those who do evil. that is what we are trained in. this is how we show up in the move went when you see us on the front line. press, we don't attack trump directed. to make a said she did not show up at the march because of one man. up to fight racism, anti-black racism, xenophobia, transphobia, islamophobia, misogyny, anti-semitism because after donald trump is out of office, the rule still be all of those things here. god for bid something happen to mr. farrakhan, and testament is

him was here before mr. farrakhan. under repression for centuries. accountability is on ourselves, to our community's to say how dare you at a time when white nationalism is on the rise, where 11 innocent jews got killed in sanctuary by white supremacist the day after another white supremacist was sitting pipe bomb's to people's homes amid to black people were shot in progress because he could not get into a black church, that we made tamika mallory and linda sarsour prime minister farrakhan literally the whole story instead of focusing on the real story, white nationalism. we have been asked and demand it of many things and we have came out and said we understand, we hear the pain come and i've been working with jews for over 20 years. a lot of this comes from -- the

reasons why people backlash is because they respond from a place of trauma. black people have historical,. lots of people have historical trauma. sometimes we have to go back to our communities and say, let's heal, let's find ways to deal with this trauma so we're not imposing it on others who are also traumatized and focusing of people that are causing the trauma to our community. i am asking my jewish family in the room to have those hard conversations that we have decided to have with nancy and rabbi rachel and another rabbi rachel and rabbi baron and joshua and a lot of other rabbis . we are calling you into have the same kind of conversations that we are having within the jewish community, just like to have conversations about anti-black racism within the air community. progressive leaders about homophobia in the muslim community.

i take those platforms all the time and i challenge my people every single day. sometimes we have to challenge her own people. i am welcoming you to challenge ourselves the same when we are challenging each other right now in the movement. guess what? we're all in this together. we the rise together or we're all going to fall together. i will talk to about anything you want. anybody but trump. all of us are in one vote and the vote is called anybody but trump. you let the boat float or it will sink in we're all going down with it. i will be in canada. i want to stay on the boat with all of you here. >> acting to issue that comes up in the movie is more about our community than it is about mr. farrakhan. he is being held as a proxy for a lot. i've watched that happen over time. i'm not going to say he doesn't help it. trust me, he knows exactly what

to say in order to get the type of attention that he wants to bring to him for his particular reason. so i am not sitting here to be an apologist portman explainer for mr. farrakhan. the bottom line is, the work we're doing, the work that is being shown in this film is work that if we don't all lean into it really, really quickly and figure out where is our place, even when we don't agree on issues as has been said, we're going to go down together. whenever we can see our children screaming "i want my aunt" or any want to please come and be with me, baby that is locked up in a cage laying on the floor children dying, from dehydration. when we see seven-year-old dying

from a gunfight that happened to a little woman by the name of jazmine barnes. a few weeks ago she was shot and old., seven years two people were shooting. she was shot and killed. it was in the news for about two days. and then the story is over. the question i am often asking, people who love to critique is, do you know jazmine's name? you knowow the name of the peope who killed the people in the synagogue echoed you know their name or the name of mr. farrakhan? if that is the only name you know, there is a problem. there's a problem we don't know the names of those who were really, really brutally harming our community. there's a problem. whatever you think about me after watching this film is completely fine because i know who i am. thank god i have parents who

have helped to route me in -- root me --i don't to cry, but i want to say my carrots have rooted me as such a realist about who i am that even when it was difficult going through this process, my mom and dad cap looking at me saying, you did not come here for those people. who are here for rayray still on street corners and nobody is going to save them. these conversations, these headlines, these folks are not willing to go to those street corners to save those individuals. they will not meet you there. they will not be there. you have to find a way to help them soften their hearts to come with you, but they are not there. you are there. and that is who you have to go back and get. and every time i put that in the front of my face and in the front -- in my thoughts, every minute that i had clearly enough

to understand why i am in this work, all the noise just kind of went away because i realized that the more i focus on that noise, there is an actual apparatus that is working behind the scenes to ensure that we all focus on the noise and that we don't focus on the real issues that are tearing our community's apart. and i think the thing i want to say on behalf of black folk who agree with me -- because not all agree -- but on behalf of those who do a great, it is very difficult for us because what we realize is there is never -- sasha was saying in the film that just at the moment the jewish folks, especially white jewish folks, feel safe, that is when actually you all, whoever may be in the room that may be personal about it, are not safe. the thing i want people to know

about my community is that we are never safe. there's never a moment where we feel like we are safe and then something happens. ] itse me i'm a mom [bleep is happening every single moment of the day. we don't ever have a moment of safety or comfort. we never have that. it is very difficult for us when people come with trauma that we understand and say, well, we are upset with someone in your community who was helped to lift unsafeeople who are in moments every single day of their lives. it is very difficult. but what we learned is the pain our communities are suffering together is one that is going to make us have to address these issues because if we don't, we're not going to be up to build a movement that is big enough to fight all of these different forms of oppression. that is why keep saying that i have grown so much because even though i know the challenge that

black people are dealing with is constant, i also understand that anti-semitism -- all of the other issues that we talked about, are issues that just really are replacing -- i'm going to be quiet -- they are really just replacing moments. therefore, we are in a burning fire and the whole house is actual he burning down and therefore, all of us are going to have to become firemen and women. >> so we have questions from the audience and we don't have a lot of time, but i think these are very important. one, how do you balance the emotional trauma experience from your personal lives with the political attacks that try to smear your motives? >> it is a part of the movement of people don't see. it is import for people to understand. we have children. i have three. it is also the conversation we have to have with their own children, what is someone hate their mother? mom, why do they hate you? two are in college

and one is in high school. i'm not running around toddlers. these are young people who are not sheltered from the world. for me personally, people will say, oh, i will go out with my family or go on vacation. i don't get to do that. i don't get to be a public spaces with my children like people get to go to dinner with the family. i am recognizable wherever i go. i've had many moments were people having gauged and behavior i do not one around my children a could escalate. many times after -- we went to vegas. a friend of mine was like, get a flight, but a friend first sent us to jamaica. we went to a secluded part of the world because we can't be acting regular and going to places were people recognize who we are. from a, sisterhood. -- for me, sisterhood. i will fight for tamika.

this is the kind of solidarity we have built in our relationship, including, perez. we will wise together and go down together and that is the kind of relationship. that gives me solid. i know of people who will unequivocally stand with me isse relationship with me not conditional. also, my family. my family has been my rock will step for me, finding solace in a family who has understood oppression and came to america because of oppression and being able to be my palestinian grandmothers while the string manifested is something that holds me in centers me and keeps me sane in a movement that is crazy and wants us to be crazy. and just to say to folks here, i want you to know we are cool with the headlines. people can write from here to tomorrow about us because we know we are part of the legacy of leaders they came before us who are also vilified and dehumanized, including the great

people were just talking about last week like dr. martin luther king. that also gives me solace that i'm just a continuation of the struggle in america where those who are the most affected, the most powerful and the most intersectional that are able to bring a lot of people together that usually don't get together, become very dangerous in america and are going to be always attacked -- not just attacked, but just to be clear, there is almost like a formula for it. they start with certain things -- vilification, and make you and a public enemy number one. they try to break down your movement. when ac they are not winning, the last thing they do is assassination. we're not immune to seeing the potential assassination of our leaders, especially under an administration like this one. what i call people to do is disagree, challenge, critique, but you never want to be part of the story of assassination.

sometimes we just sit back and stay silent. silence is violence. >> i would to jump in because i don't what to lose sight of the common enemy we have up here, which is the white nationalist movement is the lighting and the divisions that they are promoting wiwithin this movemen. clear thatnt to be particularly as a women's movement, a movement led by women of color, that there is a playbook here. and that is what i think w we nd to rise above because linda mentntioned 2020. every day that goes b by, evererything w we have foughtt r and i have 54 and the organization has fought for f fr over 1 100 years, is going to te tubes. the next will be roe v. wade. think about it. every single thing we care

about. i am working to get my community to look much bigger. i think way beyond the day-to-day, we have got to look at the larger scale. that is what this movement has done, which is to pull everyone up. i have to be optimistic. nancy kaufman, ceo of the national council of jewish women, along with linda sarsour and tamika mallory, cochairs of the women's march. this was part of a discussion with others in a moderated by the author rebecca walker. when we come back, tessa thompson. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: pink k martini i featuring china forbes and storm large "i am woman." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we're broadcasting from the sundance film festival. earlier this week, i caught up with the acclaimed actress tessa thompson. she starred in two films last year -- the sci-fi horror film "annihilation," as well as "sorry to bother you," directed by boots riley. she also played diane nash in "selma." i asked her to talk about the #metoo movement and the time's up. >> times up is addressing safety in the workplace. obviously, a came out of this watershed moment about this gross abuse of power after weinstein, but it is looking at a balance of power. when we have more women in positions of power, workplaces are just safer. in a robust way, it is tried to address issues of inclusion behind the lens and across industry lines. one thing that came out of

studies that stacy smith has done is in the last decade, literally the last decade, 10 years of filmmaking, the top 100 films, only 4% of those films have been directed by womemen. inin response to that, times up has initiatedd the 4 4% challen, asking peoplple to pledge to wok with a female director in the next 18 months. i have taken that pledge. are takingher people that pledge. that is just sort of one way to address. obviously, there needs to be a lot more work done. amy: you starred in "sorry to bother you." talk about that film. it is in awarde season, but also the importance of who was included in "sorry to bother you."

boots riley. an amazing film. >> he is on the mountain somewhere. i feel like you'll blocked here at any moment wearing some fabulous coat. -- i feel like he will walk in here and a new moment wearing some hatless code. the word season, postcard of the times and some weight that you see what films are resignation with people. resonating with people. boots riley recently took to twitter. luckily, we have had so many fans say, you have been snubbed, your left out of the conversation. amy: meaning not nominated. >>he film hasadad an incredib i impac its a film, for my money, wants toreak rules. and for long, will we talk about inclusioni think people ofof col havave en mososy it toward in the spe of magal realism. it ctainly wasn impedint

toetting t fm eight. what we e with fms like "a sort of both y you" d "g"get out"t" ithey b break dn n thos barriers. theyelp do ay with ts old mythogy that we can only be seen in onway. 'reot a monith. feel likit has bee suessful, vermind at awards wget or d't t. am talk about your role in "sorry to bother you," how it allows you to expand and also another film you starred in. >> i play detroit in "cerda bother you," who is an artist, activist, performance artist. for me, i venture and answer this question in terms of my work will stop i've been attracted to projects that have something to say. if you're an artist, how can he not reflect the times we live in? incited media, we have the power to change time -- inside media, we have the power to change. she figures out with the

intersection of our in activism, that is been something i have felt deeply indede my art,t, but rt of unsure how to do an barrasseto talk out it t say, like, mresponsility as an artt is also to be o serve. i thi she held me to step to tt more boly. are also inhis moment ere u saw, f example the launch of tes of happeon a red carpet with memen all i iblack. at is sothining that detroit es is tose self as be ofe to t to reay service. thats somethg i'stepping into ia big wa this fil "ttlewood talks -- e accessve projecof health in this countr which isomethinthat ntinues be someing that we don't know ife still ve. pland parentod was skind helping us dohat resech. theea tt

writ/directolooking the untry, understanding -- i live in los angeles and she lives in new york. amy: she's also an african-american female director. >> she is. looking at certain places in the country and seeing how long you would have to drive to get a safe abortrtion. that was sort of the genesis of this film "little woods" which is a modern western abt these two sists s thatave e toravell from the dakotas to canada to get a safe abortion it is a beautiful film. it comes out this year. neon bought it. amy: last year i saw you at the women's rally here in park city, though you live in los angeles. the year before was the women's march -- which, by the way, harvey weinstein took part in. but that women's march was in response to president trump just having been inaugurated. we are two years in.

the state of the union has been postponed for the moment. president trump will be giving it. talk about the state of this union as ucs. >> oh, my goodness. i feel like there is been such -- how terrible things have been. people need to wake up and be more active. in times that are really dark, we have also seen in the last historic, first, with women really coming into power in palpable ways. i think as citizens of this union, i feel an engagement that i have never felt before. and i feel -- if there's any thatr lining, it is for some amy: what about the congress that was just elected? >> i mean, come on. and the documentary - -- still" amy: about alexandria

ocasio-cortez and through the pepeople running for congress. then she was supposed to b be he tonight but because of complications from the government shutdown, was not able to come out. >> fascias here in spirit. ,hat she's been able to do activating, making us feel like the people that represent us are us, and that is really powerful. i personally have not felt that in a really, really long time. i don't know, i feel hopeful. amy: and your role in "westworld"? >> we're coming back for season three. we are starting in march. we will try to post the question of what the nature of humanity is. amy: described the villainous you play. >> charlotte hill, the overload of this corporation. i think something she speaks to puthen corporations really

a premium on the bottom line over humans. in this case, obviously, they are robotsts. amy:y: artificial intelligence. >> so she dodoes that feel liket is too b bad a thingo do. the trtruth is, we're l living inside t times where in terms of tech andnd science that t the sw exexplores, we're n not that far away from. the show is a constant education for me in terms of engaging with really where we are. amy: and the role of art and activism. what responsibility you feel as such a prominent actress playing such an important role, kind o f cultural ambassador whose work travels the world, ththe message you want to send to people here in the united states and beyond? >> i think any artist should just be able to make art and not have to be ambassador of anything. of color,an, a woman never mind all of my

particulars, my other particulars. i have a lot to say. you're part of any group that is marginalized or your voices have been maligned, art is a really impactful way to be able to tell your story and help other people be seen and heard in that space. ,ut for me, i am of that mind my favorite artist like nina simone, like, how could you not reflect the times in which you live? the truth is, i think people should be up to just make movies and make content and not have to be the spokesperson or the poster child for anyone saying. it just seems to be something i'm interested in. ifore i thought about acting, thought about politics. now i can display a politician. amy: tessa thompson here at sundance. of theli: and one directors and producers of the academy award dominated documentary "rpg." amy: congratulations on the academy award.

you broke the news to route better ginsburg? >> yes. -- i wasces office tapped into her home where she was recovering from surgery from two cancers nodules being removed on her lung on the morning the oscar nominations were announced. the justice's office past us through to her home and we got to break the news to her. she was quite enthusiastic. it is hard -- not to be modest, but she thought it was imminently well-deserved. the better news than that for us personally was just hearing her voice for the first time since her surgery. she sounded really shipper in cheerful and really strong. when we told her how nice it was to hear her voice sounding great, she said she is eager to get back to work. she has been working from home, .s has been reported

a lot of what the court does is reading briefs and reading transcript of oral arguments. -- thoughtsting about rulings on various cases. she is been doing that from her home in washington. amy: you s so profoundndly illulustrated inin your film abt our b bg's life, about ruth bade ginsrgrg's life. shshe s not missed an oral argument in more than a quarter of aentutury sosohe is doing this fm her recovery b.. wo w the whi house tt trp was already entertaining names to replace her. but what is the next time the supreme court comes together? do you expect her to be there? >> i should say as a result of her susurgery, she did miss two weeks of oral arguments for the first time ever in january as her doctors widely advised her

that she needs to take care of recovering from surgery. the great news was both scans and pathology show no further evidence of cancer, so it i is a question of recovering from the surgery at this point. thee court hears oral arguments again on february 19. that is a few weeks away and that is why she is trying, she works from home, trying to rest and recover and hopefully be back on the bench for those arguments. amy: so what about the news that president trump was already entertaining names to nominate for her seat? i think well, i mean, it would be -- on the one hand, it certainly makes sense for a white house to be prepared for who their supreme court picks would be, whatever the circumstances are on the court. i think as far as anyone try to get that out in the world or the pretty massa rumors going on online and the fox news mistake of putting up a graphic suggesting she had died last week --

amy: can you explain? >> last monday, as part of a story there were doing when the on-air tell it was talking about justice ginsburg, they put up a graphic slate that set her name and said the years as if she died. they immediately apologized. it was a mistake in the control room. i take fox news at their word for that, but what then happened twitters zy online phere is everyone started to spread that as rumors. i'm happy to say having spoken her day after that, shehe is ale and willll and soundnding stron. amy: and that the news of her demise was greatly exaggerated? >> exactly. amy: talk about rbg for a moment. what she represents on the court and what she has worked so hard

on, why she is so important. >> i think our bg has represented a number of things throughout her life. she is represented the obstacles that women face in getting their footing in thehe professional world that all of the forces that work against them and how important it is to fight those forces. she has represented, , as a lawyer, the importance of fighting for equal rights under the u.s.s. constitution from an and w wen. she herself became rlllly th pre vce making that argument inin the.s. . sueme cour the beauty of th fight iitit is fight tt she made huge progssss on. inore mode days, s is come casessentin certa as t c courtas b bece morere conservative, she often reprents a w of dissent in a number of issues, inclung reododucti rights,omen's ghts, , d votingights that have really, i would say,

resonated aroun the country knowledge's lawyers and judges, but also with actctivists and record the people concerned about those issues. amy: julie cohen, let's talk about the oscar nomination for "rbg." you are breaking ground in so many ways will step this obviously trailblazing woman, but also you as a women led team, how unusual is this, both in the documentary section and overall? >> we are certainly very proud that all of the league faces and voices and brains on the "rbg" documentary to more women, myself and betsy as well as our executives and director of photography, our editor, our composer -- i could go on was to a woman-led creative and executive team is pretty unusual. there's been a fair amount of

talk in the movie business in receipt years about the underrepresentation of women behind the camera. that is particularly true in the narrative sphere and it is true again this year in the best picture nominees that some of the great women directorial deborah granik ," andd "leave no trace the director of "the writer" and "can you ever forgive me?" that they did not get director nominations, and one film had a believe two acting nominations and best supporting actor nominee richard e. grant made the point, my group performance nfl did not just drop from the sky. there was a great director behind it. it happened to be a woman. hopefully, as women become more walks of theon all film business, you'll see more women's work getting recognized.

amy: julie cohen, codirector of the oscar-nominated documentary "rbg" from the sundance film festival in park city, utah. i am amy goodman. thank you for joining us. democracy now! is looking for

narrator: on this episode of "earth focus," the most basic human need is also its most precious commodity. in california's central valley, home to 19% of the food prodtition ththe orld,d,any liveitithoutleanan dnkingg watewwhileat t thedge ofof moroc's ahara reon, rvesting water fm m fog s the potentiatoto deey imimpa a ctuture. [cama focus s ng clickining] [shutterlicking]